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CD Review: The Memory of a Madman by Closure

[review]

Memory of a Madman is one of those albums that you can’t simply have as background noise, as all too often it will do something unexpected and grab your attention again. The rich, layered soundscape is one that you can fully immerse yourself in, with a variety of electronic backing giving an orchestral filling to the album’s prog-rock exterior. It’s an incredibly diverse album, with no two tracks sounding alike, and taking on board everything from down-tempo trip-hop to subdued acoustic ballads to swaggering stoner rock riffs. As well as the mix of genre, each track has different arrangements and structures, some lacking vocals and varying in length from little over one minute to over nine. All the tracks however express a strong emphasis on rich atmosphere and melodies, complimented by some particularly well executed bass playing. Ultimately the album’s greatest strengths are its diversity and resonant atmosphere, which clear as day showcase the group’s love of classic prog bands such as Pink Floyd and Rush. Closure’s blend of heavy rock guitar work, symphonic backing and haunting ethereal vocals is performed with the restraint necessary for them to put time and effort into carefully crafting the album’s swelling and washing sound. At almost an hour long, it’s not for those with a short attention span, or those who are used to bog-standard song structures, but who cares about them anyway?

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Dane Pavitt
As a university fresher in the big world, curiosity brought me to the local rock & metal bar, where for the first time I heard the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Pantera and Slayer. Since then I’ve played as a rock DJ across the midlands, hosted my own radio show, seen dozens of bands at concerts and festivals, and become an entirely better person because of the influence of music, as my library continues to expand and diversify. Other favourites include Black Sabbath, Dio, Queen, David Bowie, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, The Who, Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein, Depeche Mode, The Prodigy, Nightwish, Danzig, Brendon Small, Devin Townsend, Testament, Emperor, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Neil Diamond and countless others, though I’ll listen to anything that sparks an opinion. Cheers and horns up!
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